Razor-blade sharpener



J. L. HILDEBRAND RAZOR BLADESHARPENER Filed April v. 192s A 'l' im 4m eg-@f- /z 15 rollers.

UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

J'AMES I...v HILDEBRAND, OE LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

Razon-BLADE SHABPENE.

Appncaaon mea April 7, 192e. serial No. 100,313.

This invention relates to 'raz'or A blade Sharpeners of portable type, andis intended expensive to manufacture and highly eilicient andrapid in its sharpening action.

Heretofore devices of this type have been characterized by an outer casing or framework adapted to be grasped in one hand and provided vwith an actuating crank to be turned by the other handsto rotate stropping I have found that, by providing a operated device that can be driven the crankmanually at much higherspeed than can driven devices referred cutting edge can be produced on the razor in a very short interval vof time. y

y In its general features the invention com prises a central fixed supporting post which' is constructed to support and accurately po stion the razor blade to be stropped in accurately iXed position, said post forming the support for an oscillatory frame in which are mounted rotatable stropping rollers, the said post also `rotatably.supporting a roller-driving sprocket sleeve over 3U which is .passed a manually actuated chain,

all arranged so as to permit a high speed rotation of the stropping ,rollers alternately against opposite 'sides of the edge of the inserted blade.A

This and other features of the invention will be described in the following speci'cation and willbe deiined in the\claims hereto annexed. In the accompanying drawings: I Figure 1 is a plan view showing a complete assembled Aview edge of a door or other support, such as the back of 'a chair; Y

FigureQ is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure l. l Y Figure 3 is a central verticalsection through the central supporting post which ormsthe backbone of the structure.`

Figure 4 is across sectional `view through the razor blade holder and rollers on the dotted line' plane 4 1-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a front end elevatiorn l K Figure 6 is a plan view showing a doubled 55 edge blade and its carrierfplate in Y interlocked relatiom to, a very superior of the razor stropper'. as it would vappear when attached to theV vhandle 3f1 0n earner.;

' ofthe comme studs 3" as well as the boss 3.*

Figurej' is a reverse or underside view of the same `carrier-plate. with a single edge blade mounted thereon; j Y

Figure-8 is a cross sectional view through 60 the blade-carrying plate with a single edge blade attached thereto. i

Figure 9'is a front elevation o the at taching plate of the supporting clamp.

lathe-practice of this invention accord- '85 ingto the form illustrated, IA rovi e a centralsupporting post. 1, of attened cross section, as shown in Figure' 4, which is pro. vided at its inner or anchoring end with an enlargement orhead la, and with projectingV stud 2, of cylindrical `form, which terminates in a reduced tang or tenon Q adapted to be inserted through a support ing plate 20,to which it is clamped by a clamping nut 2b so ,as to.V hold the post 75 rigidly in position to support other parts of the device. s

.In thel preferred form the forward .end o this post is provided with an enlargement'or spindle head 1 b which is rabbeted, as shown 80 at 1, to form a cylindrical bearing for the oscillatory rollercarrying frame, presently to be'descri/bed. l

This supporting post 1 is slotted longitudinally from its outer end inward to form a y comprising upper and lower holding chuck' in endwise a l jawsbetween which is pushed vblade-carrying member 3.

v This blade-carrying member 3 comprises, essentially, an elongated flat bar or plate having, along-the medial line of one face,

a Aplurality of short projecting studs or ins 3'ada-pted to register with corresponding openings in a well-known type ofl razor blade, and also has a boss or sphne 3, adapt- 95 ed to enter a' channel orgroove in the slot of the holding chuck 1, when the bladecarrier anditsinterlocked blade is inserted andpushed in to stropping position, this l manipulation being facilitated by aiknob or the front end of the blade- As the device is lintended to be used' or r either double edgel blades or single edge blades there of theplate- 3 from the studs 3b, an oblong shallow pocket o r socket for the reception of the thickened or reinforced back portion nly used single blade. .The

project slino ciently beyond the upper face of the razor blade, lwhen the razor blade is 'placed into a reduced 70 isprovided, on the reverse sidel 105 intel-locked relation-with-thecarrien so that y all 4thesev members form together 'an inter.-

rupted spline. guiding in the` longitudinalv keyway or groove 1g, formed in thegslot 1',-

thereby preventing lateral displacement .of

the blade-carrier' and blade.

To prevent too easy withdrawal of ,the blade-carrier in the blade from its holding chuck, "a headed plunger or detent 4projects through the lowerjaw to form .a 'frlctional Contact with the underside of fthe blade-carrier against which it is presesd by the'iat spring 4.

The stropping rollers are `mounted inv an oscillatory frame comprising the inner cross-'head or member 5 and a' yU'shaped yoke 6 rigidly secured thereto thus forming a rigid quadrilateral frame. The outer crossconnecting member 6* of the oscillatory frame' is formed with a middle bearing aperture to receive the annular bearing 1c, formed on' the'outer end of the post 1. It will be observed that the bearing aperture in the'cross member 6L of the oscillatory frame is of sufficiently large diameter to allow the passage of the inner head 1 of said post so that the devicemay be easily assembled. The

- post is inserted with its stud end 2, foremost irst through the cross member 65 and then through the cross-head 5, .the latter having' bearing engagement 'with the. cylindrical :stud 2 at the inner endv of the post. Both cylindrical bearings 1' and 2 of the fixed Y central post or arbor, which forms thecentral support or backbone of the working elements of the device, are'provided with fiat annular shoulders transverse to the central' axls. The cross head 5I is preferablyA provided with a. peripherl'tl flange to form a rotective easln around the train of ywhich' the ro 1ers are-rotated.

A d'stin'ctivefeature ofthe present inprovement consists in the' sprocket sleeve 11,

provided with 'an ,intermediate sprocket -member or wheel 11", and provided at outer end with a pinionl 12', preferably ofv substantially larger 'diameter than thefdf amete'r of the sprocket 11?. 'A manually o -j erated sprocket' chain-13 passes around' t e! sprocket 411" and is prevented from slipping oif the sprocket by an arcuate guardmember 13? secured to the supporting plate 520. to prevent the chain-from accidentally running off the `sprocket wheel.

.The rollers lofare journaled the vtwo cross `members 5 and 6 ofthe oscillatory frame, and have secured to the inner ends .of their journals drivingpinions 14,'which are preferably .considerablyl smallen in di-.` ameter =than1 the driving pinion 12 wit-lr -wphich` they intermesh. `There is a very de cided' yadvantage in imparting a relatively highspeed of rgtationto the rollers when in stropping contact with the blade edges.

mamas msnm@ arab; the use afl,

Lease-19 j a drivingchain lvwhichhas two advantages over a crank drive, namely, that it'is possible to' attain a mil/ch higher driving speed with the chain'- grasped in the two hands and pulled alternately inlopposite directions, and

-second because'the attempt to rotate `a` small crank at high speed results in the jerky and sometimes reverse movement of the crank,

bythe .rapidly rotating drivingtsleeve or4 pinion againstA the adjacent cross member' 5 of the roller-carrying frame, as it will be seen that a jerky or halting rotation of this pinion will result in an. irregular and -jerky cont-act ofthe stropping' rollers with. lthe blade.-

The stropping rollers themselves 4are preffl erably made by winding stri s '10,of s1'1it' able leather, helically aroun, `the rollersto prevent.- minute' `nicks in the blade byline" particles of steel removed in -the stropping operation.' The outer orv stropping surface o 'these Strips may be slightly scored transvvers'ely t'o leave suitable shallow score marks or grooves, in" this -cas'e shownto be .of V

shape or -l'xerring-bone patternf- Such scor-y ing increasesthe eliciency ofthe rollers particularly when driven at-high speed as it.

presents a rapid succession of. stropping edges', whileprovidingshallow recesses for" the rece tion of the particles removed from As'both handsare needed for the eilicient operation ofthe driving chainparticul'ar,

attention is paid'to' the means for attaching the su porting post to any convenient ob" ject apted to/form a supportand to this end the plate 20 is made with three triangu larly. disposed'ap'ertures, to'wit, two plain ones 20 ,.,whil e the third one' vis in the forni secured fin' proper position on a supporting VclampV 21 which is also provided with pro.

cfa keyholeslot 209`ad'apted'to drop down i .behind-the head' of an Aatl-,aching'screw 21" 115 jecting pintles 21, `adapted 'to pass through I 'the'lhole's 20"-, the U shaped clamp itself be- 'mgprovided withan anvil- 21b opposed to v 120 a clamping screw`21.

"The/.supporting clamp 21 is preferably lunadedetachabl'e from the faceplate 26, fory convenience'fin packing the device. f

From the foregoing descriptionl it will be seen that the' device is very simple and cheap lin its construction since/the central supportingA post, which carriesl the strop, is made inone 'piece and ad uate bearing'forboth the driving sleeve eq andthe roller frame, and also forms an entirely provides simple \and effective chuck .for

accurately. positioning and firmly retaining either a double edge blade ora single edge blade for sharpening. Its supporting clamp allows it to be attached to the edge of a door,

back of a chair or to the, overhang of a table since the clamping connection, with the plate 20, allows it to beset to any desired angle in relation to its clamping member. The long, steady pull in one direction serves to frictionally lhol-d vthe rollers in proper continuous stropping Contact with the blade edge until the movement of the chain is ref' versed, While affording a very high speed action of the stropping rollers ,against the blade. While the chain is being pulled in one direction each roller is operating on its side of the two edges of the blade, and when thepull is reversed it operates on the opposite side of the edge that has just been stropped by the other roller.

It Will be seen that the central post forms i -a fixed arbor that affords support for Aall the working parts in a most accessible manner. The alternate pulling tol and fro of the driving chain, whichvis kept from leaving I .the sprocket by the guard or keeper 13, permits the rapid Vrotation of the pinionsleeve 11, which is confinedbetween the adjacent cross or end member of the oscillatory frame and the (supporting standardl 20, so

that the'end thrust oflthis pinion sprocket sleeve is sustained bythe member `5 of the oscillatory frame which is held against out.

' ward movement by the annular shoulder at the Vouter end vof the cylindrical bearing 2. '.Thisjaffords a frictional con/tact sufiicient to cause the oscillatory roller-carrying frame to be swung in a counter-clockwise direction (having reference to Figure 4:) when the driving pinion is rotated in that `direction by a pull downward on the left hand. end o1y the chain until the two stropping rolls come in' contact with opposlte edges of the blade and on opposite sides thereof. At the end i of the'stroke the chain pull is reversed, the

y pivotal frame swings through an arc of ap- .t -proximately 90 degreessso that each roller 56 engages the opposite edge of the blade, the

rotation-of each roller in each instance being from the middleportion of the blade to- Ward its edge since reverse rotation would tend to cut the strop covering of the roller.`

' A slight pinching action upon` the inner I lend member of the oscillatory roller frame,- -betu'een the rapidly rotating sprocket sleeve and the confining shoulder of the central .i

' post or arbor, is 'quite suflicient tov induce this limited' swinging movement of the frame Aand alsov to cause a. substantial res sure of the rollers against the edges o thb bladel being sharpened. The sprocket chain forms ,a positive driving element, free from any frictional slip that might be induced by the vfrictional resistance tofrotation of the rollers by reason of their pressure against the razor blade. As a consequence of the above-described construction and arrangement a high speed of' rotation for the rollers, in conjunction with a substantial pressure of the rollersagainst the blade'is obtained, as Well as a continuous, stead-y movement, free from slip or jerk and, therefore, a highly efficient sharpening action is produced.

Vhat I claim is:

l, A razor blade Sharpener embracing in lcombination a central fixed supporting post oneend ot' which is vconstructed to be secured to a suitable stationary support, said post being slotted from its other end to forma pair of gripping jaws, a blade-carrying plate with a razor bladeplaced against its side and to coact with one of said jaws to engage said blade on opposite sides and to hqld it in fixed position to be stropped, an osclllatory frame pivotally mounted on said post, rotatable stropping rollers mounted in said frame to have alternating s'tropping contact with opposite sides of the same edge of the blade,4 and a chain-actuated gearingtrain for oscillating said frame and rotating said rollers- Asprocket sleeve mounted on the attached end of the post, a pinion secured to said sleeve andhaving frictiona'l contact with'sa'id 4oscillatory frame, said pinion also intermesh v ing with pinions on the adjacent ends ofthe formed to have interlocking engagement rollers and a driving chain arranged to v travel to and fro over said sprocket as it is 4manually actuated to and fro. t

3. A razor blade Sharpener embracing .inv its construction a standard, a central bladeholding post secured at its inner end to the standard, said end being reduced to jorm a cylindrical bearing .between an annular` thrust shoulder and the standard, a. reversin ble rotary driving pinion mounted on said bearing, an oscillatory roller-carrying frame having vpivotal support on said bearing between thefrotary pinion and the'thrust shouli der, and being rictionally oscillated by said a 4pinion to be shifted to and-maintained -i'n operative position as the pinion rotates to' and fro, and vrotatable e stro ping lrollers A- mounted in Iparallelism in. said oscillatory frame on' opposite sides' of said post, and

I, having driven-connection with said pinion.

from the reversible-sprocket member.

lon said post, spaced stropping rollersrotatably carried by said member, a. rotatable sprocket member supported by said post and having gearing connection with said rollers,

and apull-chain having positive driving engagement with said sprocket to rotate said sprocket member alternatelyvv in opposite directions, said roller-carrying member being swung to and fro by friction transmitted 5. A razor bladesharp'ener embracing in combination a fixed post, saidpost being slotted lengthwise to form blade-supporting and'positioningjaws and being provided .with an external bearing at each end, an oscillatory 'quadrlateral frame mounted on said bearings, rotatable stroppingv rolls mounted in said frame, 'a reversible' rotatable chain-actuated driving -member operatively connected with said rollers to rotate them alternately in opposite directions as the chain is drawn toand fro, said framebeing swung to and'fro by frictional connection with said driving memberto present.. and retain each rolleralternately inrrotating contact with anedge of the blade until the chainsprocket 'sleeve also mounted on said post in movement is reversed. l

6. A `razorsharpener embracing 1n its 'construction a fixed centralblade-holding post rovided with bearin s atvits ends, an oscilatory frame mounte on sald bearings, ro-

" -tatable .'stropping rollers mounted in-'said frame on opposite sides of the central post, a driving:l sprocket sleeve l rotatablyv mounted on one of said end bearings and having a.

sprocket-sleeve driving gear connect-ion with said rollers to f rotate them, a manuallyoperated chain having driving engagement with said sprocketl around the sprocket and the sprocket-engaging portion of the chain to prevent the chain from becoming disengaged from the pinion. t I

7. In a razor blade Sharpener, the combination with a fixed central post, an oscillatory roller-carrying frame pivotally mounted thereon, a chain driven sprocketlsleeve mounted on oneV end ofl said post to have frictional engagement With said oscillatory roller frame, a guard member partly surrounding said sprocket. to prevent aceldental. disengagbement of "the chain, said eing provided with a pinion intermeshin with roller driving pini'ons yto cause. the rol ers to rotate in opposite directions as the 'position of the frame and the` movement of the driving chain is reversed. f

l8. 'In a razor Sharpener, the combination with. a fixed central bladesupporting post provided With-means for releasably locking.v

a razor blade i-n 'stropping positiontherein, an Aoscillatory roller-carrying frame pivotally mounted on said post, a reversiblerotary frictionalcontact lwith said oscillatory frame, said sleeve having a pinion forming a drivin connection with the rollers carried by sai 'frame and ineans Ifor reversibly'ro-A I tati'ngvsaid sleeve.

In witness whereof., I haw .subscribed-the above specification. t JAMES HILDEBRAND.' 

